The Doctor is delighted when the TARDIS lands near a monastery in Tibet
because it means he can return the monks' sacred ghanta which he took with
him for safekeeping centuries earlier. But all is not well at the
monastery: there is disharmony amongst the monks, and the countryside is
overrun by robotic Yeti. Soon, the Doctor finds himself accused of murder,
whilst an extradimensional force called the Great Intelligence prepares to
return to Earth... using one of the Doctor's friends as a vessel.

Production

Both Mervyn Haisman and Henry Lincoln had gotten their start in the
entertainment industry as actors, with Haisman appearing in Dr Finlay's
Casebook and Lincoln in programmes such as Z Cars and The
Avengers (under his birth name, Henry Soskin). By the mid-Sixties,
both had begun writing for television as well. Haisman had earned credits
on shows like Dr Finlay's Casebook and No Hiding Place,
while Lincoln had contributed scripts to Emergency Ward 10. By
early 1967, the pair had agreed to form a writing partnership.

Around this time, Lincoln encountered his friend, Patrick Troughton, who
complained about the lack of Earth-based stories during his first season
on Doctor Who. Lincoln seized on the idea of basing an adventure
around the Yeti, monsters which legend held lived in the upper reaches of
the Himalayan mountains. Word of the Yeti began spreading in 1887 and the
story became popularised throughout the first half of the twentieth
century, during which time the conflation of the phrases “abominable
snow” and “man of the mountains”, contained in a wire
report, gave rise to the nickname “the Abominable Snowman”.
Haisman and Lincoln approached the Doctor Who production office
with their idea, and were commissioned to write The Abominable
Snowmen on May 2nd.

Patrick Troughton complained to his friend, Henry Lincoln,
about the lack of Earth-based stories in Doctor
Who

This was the first serial instigated by new story editor Peter Bryant,
shortly after taking over from the departed Gerry Davis. When Bryant was
given a three-month test period as producer over the summer, his
replacement, Victor Pemberton, also carried out some work on the scripts.
Keen to capture the Tibetan culture accurately, Haisman and Lincoln used
authentic names and details for the Detsen monastery, including the
tongue-twisting Padmasambhava, an historical Buddhist master. Innes Lloyd
-- who returned to the job of producer following Bryant's trial run -- was
very pleased with The Abominable Snowmen and saw it as a great
opportunity to introduce more location work into Doctor Who. As a
result, many of the sequences which the writers had envisioned as being
carried out in the studio would in fact be designated for location
filming.

For a time, there was some uncertainty as to whether The Abominable
Snowmen or The Ice Warriors would be the
first story made as part of Doctor Who's fifth production block (The Tomb Of The Cybermen, made at the end of the
fourth block, was being held over to start the new season). By July 22nd,
however, Haisman and Lincoln's serial had gotten the nod, at least in part
because the location work would be more easily accomplished during the
summer. The director assigned to The Abominable Snowmen was Gerald
Blake, who had worked on series including Z Cars and Doctor
Finlay's Casebook. In early 1964, Blake had been scheduled to helm an
unmade historical Doctor Who adventure set at the time of the
Spanish Armada, written by then-story editor David Whitaker.

On July 28th, the services of the Doctor's companions were secured for
The Abominable Snowmen when both Frazer Hines and Deborah Watling
were issued new contracts; Hines' also covered The
Ice Warriors. Subsequently, Watling suggested to Lloyd that her
father, respected actor Jack Watling, might be suitable for the role of
Professor Travers. This jibed with Lloyd's own thoughts on the part, and
the senior Watling was duly cast. Jack Watling had starred in television
series such as The Power Game and The Plane Makers, as well
as feature films including A Night To Remember.

Work on The Abominable Snowmen, designated Serial NN, began on
August 23rd at the Ealing Television Film Studios, where the scenes in the
Yeti cave were filmed. Also recorded at this time was a shot of
Padmasambhava's wizened head melting, which was due to be incorporated
into part six. This was considered too horrific, though, and went
unused.

The six days of filming in the Snowdonia Mountains was the
longest location shoot allocated to Doctor
Who so far

Cast and crew then embarked on what was, at that point, the longest
location shoot ever allocated to Doctor Who. It covered six
consecutive days, beginning on September 4th, and took place at Nant
Ffracon Pass and Ogwen Lake in the Snowdonia Mountains at Gwynedd, Wales.
Unfortunately, a lack of snow -- compounded by several days of rain,
making the ground muddy and slippery -- meant that the footage failed to
convey the wintry setting suggested in the script. The rain also caused
trouble for the actors, particularly those in the Yeti costumes, who found
themselves falling frequently.

Throughout the second half of Season Four, Doctor Who had been
taped only a week ahead of transmission, a perilous situation which Lloyd
was not keen to repeat. It was therefore decided to record episodes one
and two of The Abominable Snowmen on consecutive days -- Friday,
September 15th and Saturday, September 16th. This would provide a
three-week cushion between production and transmission; the remaining four
installments would then be taped, as usual, on successive Saturdays
beginning on the 23rd and concluding on October 14th. The venue was
Doctor Who's regular studio home of Lime Grove D.

The Yeti were a big hit with Lloyd and Bryant, who saw in them the
potential for another popular success. This had become particularly
important in recent months, as Dalek creator Terry Nation's efforts in
Hollywood to develop a series based around the pepperpots meant that
Doctor Who had lost -- for the time being, at least -- its most
potent villains. Consequently, three days before The Abominable
Snowmen part four went before the studio cameras, Lincoln and Haisman
were commissioned to write a sequel, entitled The Web
Of Fear. A rematch between the Doctor and the Yeti was therefore
only weeks away.